Twisted Lives
by 19-RmK-95
Summary: Tia lives an unhappy life, her father is dead and her mum is always drunk. Then she meets Rocket, a rich, handsome young man who seems to have it all. But Rocket is hiding something, what is it and how will it affect their new found romance?
1. Chapter 1

Tia Mystica stared out of the car window onto the snow-covered streets beyond, idly fiddling with a lock of her white-blonde hair. "You OK sport?" The driver asked, "Yeah I'm fine Uncle Dan" Tia replied, leaning back against the chair letting out a huge sigh, "Well it sure don't sound like it" Uncle Dan said "listen, if there's anything you're worried about you know you can tell me right?" Tia nodded, a faint smile flickering across her face.

Uncle Dan wasn't really her Uncle, he was her taxi driver, and the only sort of family she'd had in her life since her dad died. Her mum had got so upset that she'd turned to drinking as the only way to drown her sorrows; this made her violent and unpredictable, so much so that Tia had suffered many a cut or bruise and was now permanently afraid of her, hoping that when her mum flew into a fit of rage, she wouldn't be in range.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the taxi came to a halt "here we are kid, time to get out" they had reached school "have a good day!"

"Thanks drive safe!"

"I will, see you at 3!"

"Bye!"

The car door slammed and, with a quick rev of the engine, the taxi was gone, leaving Tia standing on the ice-laden school steps. With another long sigh, she turned and headed through the gates.

"So as you can see, if we multiply X by the sum of the square route of Y…." Mr Pickler's voice droned on and on, Tia's eyelids began to droop and she began to drift off… "Miss Mystica, I'm sure you would like to share what you have learned so far?" Her eyes shot open to find Mr Pickler standing in front of her, his arms folded, one eyebrow raised, "err…I"

"Detention!" Mr Pickler cried "45 minutes during lunch!" He turned back to the board, leaving Tia to hit her head on the table letting out a muffled groan.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock, the minutes dragged by, Tia glanced up at the clock for what seemed the hundredth time, it had only been 15 minutes but it felt like an hour, she looked back down at the sheet in front of her and sighed. Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside, followed by the sound of voices, the door opened "…And this is the maths department" Mrs Carting said as she walked in "I'm sure you will find that this part of the school is both educational and fun!"

"It looks awfully nice" replied a lady, who looked like some kind of inspector, with her smart suite and hair tied up in a bun." Don't you agree Rocket?" She turned "Rocket! Come in here at once!" The door slid open slightly and "He" walked in. He had the most amazingly piercing blue eyes; a mop of unruly long brown hair and the sort of smile that makes you go weak at the knees. Tia was smitten, there was no denying it. "Yes mother" he said and his voice sent shivers down Tia's spine.

"What exactly were you doing?" His mother asked "I hope you weren't chatting up any girls"

"No mother"

"Were you trying to run off?"

"No mother"

"Have you been listening to everything that the Principal has told us?"

"Yes mother"

"Good!" As she turned away he glanced at Tia and rolled his eyes, "Parents!" he mouthed "Tell me about it" Tia mouthed back.

"Mystica!" The principal called "Why are you in here?"

"I…I fell asleep in class miss"

"How disappointing, you were quite the model student, what have you got to say for yourself?"

"I am sorry, I just had a rough night that's all, and you know how my mum gets"

"Why didn't you say that before? You are free to go, I will tell Mr Pickler where you have gone, don't worry Tia, I'll get things sorted out!"

"Thank you Miss!" Tia cried excitedly, grabbing her stuff as quickly as she could, "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Don't mention it dear" the principal replied "enjoy your lunch!"

"I will" she called. As she walked out the door, her shoulder brushed past Rocket's. "Sorry" she mumbled, and made a hasty exit.

For the rest of the day all Tia could think about was Rocket, that smile, those eyes, she shook her head violently, no he'd never fall for a girl like her, she was practically a nobody. She sighed, well, a girl can dream.

The bell rang signalling the end of school, the hallways filled with children chattering and laughing. Amongst the crowd, Tia walked with her head down, all the other girls in her class were having parties or sleepovers, but she was stuck at home with her mum. "I don't think my life could get any worse!" she thought to herself. She was wrong "Well if it isn't Miss Dorko!" A very familiar voice cried.

It was "Boulder" Bill, the toughest kid in school, he had the strength of a brick wall and the brains of one too, but he couldn't half pack a punch. Then Tia swallowed nervously, what could Bill want with her? She hadn't done anything! At least she didn't think she had……She began to walk a little faster, then broke into a run; she needed to get out of there, out of the hallway, out of the playground to the safety of Uncle Dan's taxi.

When she reached the playground it was completely empty, she turned towards the space that Dan's taxi was normally parked, it wasn't there, that was then Tia began to panic, nowhere to run, no where to hide. Suddenly she was grabbed roughly and spun round "Hey pipsqueak" sneered Bill "I've got a bone to pick wiv you"

"What have I done?!"

"Nufing, I just feel like beating someone up!"

"Why me?"

"Cause you're a loser and too scared to tell anyone"

"b-but-"

"Shut-up wimp! Now gimme your lunch money!"

"I don't have any!"

"Lemme put it this way, if you don't gimme you money right now, I'm gonna give you a good fumpin!"

"I already told you I don't-"

"Too late!" Bill cried, grabbing her shirt with one hand, he drew back the other curled into a fist; Tia closed her eyes waiting for the impact- "Hey! You! Stop!" "That voice" Tia thought where have I heard that before? She opened her eyes to see Rocket standing there, glaring at Bill in anger. "I said stop!" he growled. "Mind your own business pest!"

"This is my business"

"What is she your girlfriend or something?"

"No but-"

"Then go away!"

"No! I'm not leaving without her!"

"Fine!" Snarled Bill, letting Tia go "You got lucky this time" he snarled and walked off. Tia turned to Maxwell "Thanks!" she gasped "If you hadn't of come..." she shuddered "Who knows what could've happened!"

"No problem! It's what I do best! By the way my names Rocket"

"Hi I'm Tia; we kind of met in the maths department."

"So that was you, I knew I recognised you from somewhere!" He said glancing around. "Hey you walking home or something?"

"No but my ride isn't here so I guess I am"

"Oh, hey you could come to my place, I'm sure we could call your place from there!"

"Thanks I'd love to!"

"Come on it's this way" He cried grabbing her hand. Tia shivered at his touch "After today" she thought "Life is going to get a lot better!"

When they reached his house, in an expensive-looking black BMW, she was shocked at what she saw; the house was huge, absolutely vast! More like a castle then a house, with turrets and stained glass windows, she half expected a drawbridge to come down!

But it was the inside of the house that took Tia's breath away; massive spiral staircases, fantastically ornate oak-wood doors and a ceiling that seemed to go on forever.

"I think it would be best if you waited in here" Max said, indicating to a room to the left "Remember" he whispered "If anyone asks, tell them you've been sent by the school to help give me an idea of what it's like to be educated in one of the best educational facilities in the country"

"Pardon?"

"Just tell them you're with the school!"

"Oh..."

"I'll be back in a minute."

"Right…Ok"

Tia stepped in to the room and sat herself on one of the many velvet embroidered sofas surrounding the marble fireplace. Gazing around, her eyes rested upon a large grandfather clock standing in the far corner. It was possibly the most expensive looking clock Tia had ever seen, the clock-face looked like it was made of diamonds, and the hands were made of some sort of expensive metal, gold perhaps?

"Wow, I already thought he was rich before but this, this is something else" Tia muttered to herself "With this much money, he must live like a king!" But why would someone this rich send their son to a low class school like mine?" She would have to think about this later, as she could hear footsteps approaching the door, Tia braced herself for the worst but, thankfully, she didn't have to worry, for it was Rocket. "Follow me" he said "We've got a phone in the lounge; you can call your home from there."

"Thanks"

"No problem, come on, this way"

As they walked down the long winding hallway, Tia still couldn't help staring in wonder at the amount of wealth surrounding her. "Here we are" Rocket said, Tia smiled "I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me" She replied "Really I can't" Now it was Rocket's turn to smile "You don't have to keep thanking me you know, I'm just helping you out from the goodness of my heart"

"Yeah right!"

"I'm being honest, I love helping people, it makes me feel….I don't know…It makes me feel good"

"I'll keep that in mind" Tia sniggered "Next time I need a favour"

"It would be my pleasure fair maiden" Rocket said bowing low "Your wish is my command" This sent Tia into fits of giggles "Stop it, that it makes you look really silly."

"Really?" Rocket asked "I think it makes me look cool" Tia rolled her eyes "If you keep distracting me like that I'll never make this call"

"Oops! Sorry" Rocket grinned apologetically.

With a slight smile Tia turned back to the phone, she picked it up and punched in the numbers bib-bob-bib-bob-bib-bob, drrr, drrr, drrr, drrr, "Hello?"

"Hi Uncle Dan!"

"Oh, hi sweetie, where are you? I have been waiting here for ages!"

"Well it's a long story….I'll fill you in on the way back, listen, I'm about a few miles down the road, meet me outside the big house at the end, ok?"

"Sure, I'll be down there as quickly as I can, see you in a bit"

"Ok, see you!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!" Tia put down the phone and turned to Max. "He'll be here in about 10 minutes, is it ok if I wait here for a while?"

"Yeah sure, but I think it would be safer if you waited in the drawing room, hardly anyone goes in there."

"Why are you so nervous about me being seen?"

"Well….my mum's not to keen on visitors, at least ones that haven't called ahead….she is obsessed with formalities and stuff"

"My mum's not keen on visitors either…though not for the same reasons."

"Hmm? Why?"

"I…can't tell you"

"Ok fine, hey, is that a car beeping out front?"

"It must be Uncle Dan, yes it's definitely him."

"Alright then, I'll escort you to the door" Rocket said again, bowing low. Tia raised an eyebrow "Just exactly how many times are you planning to do that?"

"As many times as I like, anyway I don't see what the problem is, you seem to like it very much so." At these words he gave a flirtatious grin and wiggled his eyebrows. This made Tia go bright crimson with embarrassment, turning her head away so he couldn't see her face, she stuttered "W-w-well I w-wouldn't s-s-say that-" Beep-beep! The car horn sounded ever louder than before, Uncle Dan must be getting very agitated by the sound of things. "I really have to go now, thanks again!" Tia called as she ran down the hallway to the huge front door; turning back she shouted "See you at school" Then hurried down the steps to the taxi waiting at the curb. She was just opening the car door when "Hey wait!" Rocket called, Tia glanced back "What?" she asked; Rocket grabbed her hand and shoved a crumpled piece of paper into it. "Take this"

"What is it?"

"Open it on the way home"

"Why not now?"

"I…just…you'll see why"

"Ok, thanks….I think"

"You're welcome"

"Be seeing you soon?"

"Yeah, I'm starting school next Monday"

"Great! See you there!"

"See you, bye!"

"Bye!" Tia called as she got in to the car, slamming the door shut.

"Well, well, well who's that young lad then?" Said Uncle Dan.

"His name's Rocket"

"Quite a well mannered chap, he seems to have quite a soft spot for you." Tia blushed for the second time that day.

"Oh he'd probably never be interested in me; he'd go for the richer, posher types"

"Hmmm I don't know, what's on that piece of paper he gave you?"

"I don't know, I'll just take a look-" She gasped "What, what is it?" Uncle Dan asked. Tia didn't reply however, as she was still in shock, for there on the piece of paper was a telephone number, Rocket's telephone number, he had given her his telephone number! On the bottom corner was written, in small scribbly writing "Call me."

Tia's heart almost skipped a beat, "he likes me, he actually likes me," she thought excitedly, me, Tia Mystica, the school loser!

Rocket stood on the curb waving until the taxi was out of sight "Goodbye Tia" he said. I hope she does call me he thought. She's so kind and understanding. I wonder if she will stay that way when I tell her the truth. With a sigh he turned and walked back inside, looking back for one last time. "I hops she does" he whispered, closing the door.

For the whole of the journey Tia couldn't stop talking and it was driving Uncle Dan up the wall. "Ok!" he called interrupting her in mid-sentence "I know you're excited, but could you please stop talking for just a few minutes!?" Tia grinned "Sorry, I just got a little carried away"

"Hmph, you're telling me" Tia, still grinning, looked out of the window; she hesitated, "Uncle Dan?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Could you drop me off round the back?"

"Ok, why?"

"I should've been back about an hour ago, mum doesn't usually notice, but if she does, I'm in big trouble"

"All right then, I'll just drop you off down here."

As Tia got out of the taxi she glanced around, no one was in sight. After waving goodbye to Uncle Dan, she crept quietly towards the back of her house; most of which was covered in a thick winding ivy this, in Tia's opinion was probably the only thing that kept the house standing. She searched for a suitable foothold; she found one, carefully hoisting herself up she began to climb, slowly, hand over hand she climbed. She reached her window; good it was still open, gingerly she pulled herself up and over the sill into her room, taking care not to make too much noise as her feet hit the floor. She took a step forward "CREAK!!" She winced, nothing happened so she relaxed. She slung her bag on the floor and flopped down onto the squeaky, broken old mattress that was all that was left of her bed, and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next week was like a dream; Rocket was in nearly all of her lessons and always persuaded the teacher to let him sit next to her; she didn't even have to worry about Bill anymore as Rocket was always there to stand up for her, He would wait for her at the school gates to make sure she got to the taxi, he even offered to walk her home once when Uncle Dan got stuck in traffic. Tia felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

It was late afternoon on a Friday Rocket and Tia walked in silence; Tia wasn't her usual self, her mum had gone mad the night before; throwing stuff around the room most of which had hit Tia. Her arms were covered in huge purple bruises which she hid under a long-sleeved jumper. Rocket had asked her what the matter was but she hadn't answered, so he assumed it was something personal and thought it best not to ask again. In one last effort to cheer her up, he turned to her and, taking a deep breath, asked "hey… I was wondering... if you would like to… umm…" he hesitated, "!?!" he blurted out. Tia stared at him in confusion "Pardon?"

"Would you like to go out with me tomorrow?"

"Well I…I don't know what to say…what do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that we could go to the park down the road, apparently they're turning on the Christmas lights there" Tia's face broke into a huge smile, "That would be great! What time should we meet?"

"How about 8:15?" She nodded, knowing that that was the time that her mum went out for her all-night drink fest, and wouldn't notice she was gone.

"Right then, I'll meet you at the park gates, that ok?"

"Yeah! Ok!"

"See you!"

"Bye!"

As soon as Tia woke the next day she began to glance around, looking for anything that would be suitable for her date, "there's gotta be something I can wear" she thought "Wait a sec, I think I got it!" She ran over to the corner of her room where her small cupboard stood, she threw open the doors and began to shove all the Barbies and My Little Ponies and all the other stuff she'd forgotten about to one side, finally she found what she was looking for: an old cardboard box, covered in layers of dust. She picked it up and blew off the dust, coughing as it rose up in clouds into her nose and mouth; she carried the box over to her bed and set it down. Carefully she prised it open to reveal a red velvet dress with sparkling sequins around the neckline. Her mum had tried to get her to sell it but she didn't, she couldn't, it was a present for her 11th birthday and the only thing that reminded her of her dad. She carefully lifted it out of the box to find a small card beneath, it read:

"_To my little girl,_

_I know that this is far too big for you, but your mother and I thought that it was time you had it. This was the dress your mother was wearing the day I first met her, the day I fell in love with her. I hope that you will treasure it as your mother did before you._

_With all my love and care,_

_Dad"_

She held the card close to her chest as tears slowly began to fall "I love you dad" she whispered "I love you so much."

Rocket stood in front of his full-length mirror admiring his reflection, he'd decided to wear his best suit "looking good" he thought to himself. Just then his mother popped her head round the door "Rocket dear, your Uncle Theodore is visiting tomorrow and- my word! Why are you wearing that suit?" Rocket swallowed "I-I" He stuttered "What should I tell her?" he thought hurriedly "If I tell her I'm going on a date she'll ask who I'm going with, and I know she won't approve of Tia" Suddenly he had a brainwave "I'm meeting one of my 'acquaintances' from school mother"

"Oh really? And who exactly is this 'acquaintance?"

"One of my classmates, you see, they needed to interview someone of a rich background for a project, so I volunteered"

"But why are you wearing your best suit?"

"They wanted to take some pictures too."

"Well, I am pleased that you are taking an interest in others"

"Thank you Mother" Rocket answered, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. He glanced at his watch "ok, looks like it's time for me to go." He ran out of his room and down the stairs before his mother could ask any more questions.

Tia leaned over the banisters straining to hear what was going on downstairs; her mum hadn't left yet and didn't seem to be in a rush, she was going to be late!

Finally, after lots of crashing and banging, her mum left. Tia waited about 10 more minutes before leaving; now she was going to be really late!

Rocket let out a disappointed sigh, it had almost been an hour and Tia hadn't turned up "guess she couldn't make it after all" he thought sadly "oh well..." he turned to round to find Tia running towards him flushed and panting, it looked like she'd just run a marathon. "I-am-so-sorry" she said between gasps "Mum-just-wouldn't-leave" but Rocket wasn't listening, he was staring at her open-mouthed. The dress made Tia look even more beautiful than he thought was possible. "Tia you look...wow!" She blushed, "thank you, not too bad yourself" Rocket beamed "you think so?" Both of them stood there in silence until Rocket spoke "I hear you get great views of the City from the top of that hill, do you want to go up there?" Tia nodded "sure."

"It's beautiful up here" Tia said, gazing in wonder at the mosaic of twinkling lights spread out before her "I haven't been here since..." her voice trailed off "since when?" Rocket asked. She turned to him and grasped his hand "can I trust you?" she asked. Rocket smiled "yeah sure"

"I'm being serious!" She looked at him pleadingly "Please say I can" He looked her deep in the eyes and nodded "you can trust me" he replied "I promise." She took a deep breath "What I'm about to tell you is something I've hardly told anyone; it's about my family" Rocket looked confused "Your family?"

"Yeah, we're probably the worse family on the World. My mum is always drunk, so much so that she completely loses it .That's how I got these."

She said, rolling up her sleeves to reveal a mass of purple bruises. Rocket gasped "you mean... she..." Tia nodded "Yes, but it's not her fault, she's under the influence of alcohol. She's been like this ever since..." She swallowed, "ever since my dad died" Rocket stared at her in disbelief "Oh my God I...I'm so sorry"

"There's no need to be sorry, you weren't to blame" She replied "but...but..." she hesitated, took a deep breath and whispered "but I was"

"_You see, it was about three years ago: it had been my birthday the day before and I was as happy as could be. Mum was busy in the kitchen, and Dad was up on the roof replacing some tiles. I was in my room when Mum called me to tell Dad that dinner was ready, I couldn't be bothered to go to the front door so I opened the window and shouted up to him, my shout must've made him jump because the next thing I knew, I saw his body falling past my window, I looked down and was horrified to see him lying spread-eagled on the patio. I ran down the stairs screaming 'Daddy's hurt, Daddy's hurt!' Mum followed me outside 'what's wrong sweet- oh God' she knelt beside him, shaking him roughly 'Derek, Derek!' Her eyes met mine, filled with fear 'Tia, go get the phone, NOW!' I sprinted indoors, grabbed the phone, and sprinted out again. I handed it to her; she snatched it and called 999. The ambulance came almost instantly; Dad was put on a stretcher and lifted into the back, I wanted to go with him but Mum stopped me saying it'd be best if we stayed at home until he came back. He never did." _

Rocket sat in silence, "I didn't tell you this before because-" her voice began to waver "because I was afraid you wouldn't like me any more" Rocket looked at her in shock "I wouldn't even think of doing such a thing! You're probably the greatest friend I've ever had!"

"You mean it?"

"Of course" Rocket answered smiling; His smile faded, however, when he saw tears beginning to slide down Tia's cheeks "what's wrong? - Are you ok?" Tia let out a whimper, then turned sharply and buried her head in Rocket's shoulder. For a split second he froze then, acting on impulse, he wrapped his arms around her and began to gently stroke her hair as her body shook with violent sobs. "Shhh...It's ok, I'm here, and nothing's going to happen to you." Tia raised her head and sniffed "You sure?"

"Yeah, now dry those tears and stop worrying!"

Tia smiled "Hehe thanks, sorry about your suit, I think I got it a bit wet"

"No problem, it'll wash out easily" Both of them began to laugh, and then stopped when they realised how close their faces were, their noses were almost touching. Rocket swallowed, frantically he glanced around for something to push the thought out his mind. Instead, his eyes alighted on something just above their heads. There, on the little archway that straddled the bench, swinging in the breeze, was a small clump of mistletoe; Rocket stared at it, the glanced back down to see that Tia had followed his gaze and was staring at it too. Their eyes met. "It's just a silly tradition" Rocket said, Tia nodded "yeah, a really silly tradition, we don't have to-" Her voice was cut short by Rocket's lips pressed against hers; her eyes went as wide as saucers and her face blushed as red as a beetroot. Then, her eyes fluttered closed and, as if on queue, fireworks began to go off. As they melted into each other's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

-A few days later-

Tia stood outside the school gates, tapping her foot impatiently "where is he?" she muttered to herself, "looking for me?" she jumped and turned around to come practically nose to nose with Rocket, she stared at him in confusion "how did you…" he smiled

"Get here? Well, I used the back entrance"

"But why?"

"I decided to get you an early Christmas present" he reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a small box, he handed it to her. She took it cautiously, turning it over in her hands "go on, open it!" he said eagerly, she did so and found that it was a tiny silver encrusted heart attached to a chain, she gasped "Rocket it- it's beautiful!" He smiled "Just like you" her face went bright red, then she took a closer look at the pendant "Rocket, is this real silver?" he nodded she glared at him "how many times do I have to say it: you shouldn't spend so much money on me!" He gently placed a hand on her cheek "your worth it" he whispered "every single penny," then he began leaning in closer, until she could feel his breath on her lips; he hesitated, but for only a second, before delving into the kiss.

Tia's legs turned to jelly; since they had been together they had shared many kisses, but for Tia they just kept getting more amazing each time; and she still couldn't get over the fact that it was her he was kissing, "never in a million year would I think that I would be loved by someone like you" she thought to herself. He pulled away, but Tia remained where she was, her eyes closed and a dreamy smile on her face. Rocket looked at her and laughed softly "she's so adorable" he thought "I can't believe she's mine."

At the sound of his laughter, Tia's eyes fluttered open, when she realised what she was doing she looked away, a slight blush on her cheeks. "You were enjoying that I take it?" She glanced up at him with a very embarrassed look on her face "That's OK" he gave her a cheeky grin "it's not your fault that I'm irresistible!" When Tia heard this, she gave a small smile and gave him a slight push, he laughed then slid a hand around her waist "come on then let's get you home!"

When they reached her front gate, Tia turned to Rocket "I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow right?" he nodded "you can count on me, I'll be standing right at the front of school." Tia smiled "I can't wait" Rocket smiled back at her "OK then but, before I go...." He bent down and kissed her, she slipped her arms around his neck while his found their way down to her waist. They stayed like that for only a few seconds but to Tia it seemed like hours, all too soon he removed his lips from hers "goodnight" he whispered softly "goodnight" she whispered back, and with that he reluctantly turned away and walked back along the pavement.

Tia stood still until he was completely out of sight, then she began to walk up the pathway to her house.

She opened the door as quietly as possible and snuck her way indoors. Just as she was about to tiptoe upstairs she felt a hand on her shoulder, slowly she turned around to find her mum standing there, a beer bottle in her hand and a crazed look in her eyes. Tia swallowed "M-m-mum...I was just-"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!" Her mum bellowed, making Tia shrink back in fear "I saw you, exchanging spit with that filthy boy!" Tia began to tremble "that's the reason you've been late recently isn't it?" Tia hesitated ""ISN'T IT!?!" her mum practically screamed, Tia nodded fearfully "HA! I KNEW IT!!" Her mum cried triumphantly. "You've been goofing around with him while I've been here by myself, I was worried!"

"Worry isn't the first thing that comes to my mind" Tia thought.

"Now you're going to get what you deserve!" Tia took a step back, her eyes filled with terror "Mum don't!!" she cried, her mum slowly began to raise her hand "please mum I'm begging you! Don't-"

'WHACK!!!'

Rocket had been standing by the school gates for over an hour now, and he was beginning to get very worried indeed "She's never been this late before" he muttered "Something must be wrong, I'd better go and see her right away!" He began to sprint in the direction of Tia's house.

He skidded to a halt when he reached her gate, the front door was wide open and he noticed tire-marks in the gravel driveway, it was obvious that someone had left in quite a hurry. He slowly approached the door and was shocked at what lay beyond.

There was shattered glass everywhere, pictures had fallen off the walls and, when he closed the door, he found what looked like a large knife deeply embedded in the painted wood, "what happened here?" he whispered in shock. Suddenly he heard what sounded like sobs coming from the kitchen and sure enough, when he followed the sound he found Tia curled up in a ball underneath the kitchen table, battered and bruised with a huge gash running half the length of her left arm. He reached out and touched her gently, but she shrank back in fear "Don't....Please..." she mumbled faintly. "Tia don't worry it's me, Rocket"

"Rocket?" She slowly uncurled and turned towards him, he gasped; her face was covered in massive bruises and her bottom lip was swollen and bleeding. "My God!" he muttered to himself "did you're mum do this to you?" she nodded "right that's it; I'm going to tell the police about this!" Tia reached out and grabbed his arm "no...Don't!"

He stared at her in confusion "why not? She's abusing you, it has to be stopped!"

"You don't understand, if they find out, she'll be put in prison and I won't have any family members to take care of me and..." She held back a sob "I'll never be able to see you again" he gazed at her in disbelief "you mean you would be willing to put up with all this just so we can be together?"

"Yes", he was speechless, then he shook his head to clear it "OK then, but I'm taking you to hospital, you need to get that wound looked at" he said, beginning to help her to her feet "alright" she agreed, "but how do I explain how I got it?"

"Don't worry" he replied "I'll think of something." She smiled at him "thank you...Rocket" She whispered, before the shock of everything over whelmed her, and she was falling into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

Rocket was pacing back and forth across the waiting room, he knew he should've remained seated, and been trying to calm down but he couldn't, all he could think about was how Tia was doing.

When they had reached the hospital, several doctors had took her away on a stretcher, they had told him that the injuries she had suffered were very serious and that if he hadn't have found her when he did, they were certain that she wouldn't have survived, he was glad at first but then he was told that she would have to undergo surgery to remove shards of glass that were embedded in the wound, he had tried to persuade the surgeons to let him be with her during surgery but they turned him away, saying that he was too young to enter an operating theatre. Instead they told him to stay in the waiting room until they were finished.

It had only been about and hour but to Rocket it seemed like forever, finally a nurse came up to him "you can see her now" she said "follow me." She pushed open a door and motioned for him to enter, he did so, then she closed the door and left him there. He immediately ran over and knelt down by Tia's bedside "Tia." he whispered "Tia it's me, wake up!" But she didn't stir, that was when he began to take in his surroundings. The right-hand side of her bed was filled by a variety of machines, continuously beeping and whirring, all attached to Tia by wires; he also noticed, much to his relief, that the cut on her lip was healing, many of the bruises had practically disappeared and her arm was wrapped up in a clean bandage. "She looks so peaceful" he thought, gazing at her sleeping form. He stayed like that for a while, but then he felt his eyelids beginning to droop and very soon he was asleep.

Tia opened her eyes very slowly; groggily she looked around "where am I?" she thought sleepily "It looks like I'm in hospital" Then her eyes shot opened "I'm in hospital?! How did- why-" then the memories came flooding back.

"Rocket" she mumbled, at that very moment, she heard something stir to the left of her, she looked and found, to her utmost joy, that it was Rocket. He was asleep, and by the looks of things he had been there quite a while, she reached over and gently began to play with a lock of his hair; he mumbled something and tried to push her away, then he froze and looked up to meet her gaze. Almost instantly a huge relieved grin spread across his face "Tia!" he exclaimed "you're OK!" she shrugged "well not completely, but I'll live." Just then a nurse walked in "good you're awake" she said smiling "how do you feel?"

"A bit tired, that's all"

"Alright then, we just need to run some tests" she turned to Rocket "could you wait outside please" he was about to protest but Tia cut in "Rocket. Go, I'll be fine" He sighed reluctantly and exited the room.

About fifteen minutes later the door opened and the nurse stepped out "she's fine for now, but her injuries may cause her pain so I've prescribed her some tablets, you can pick them up at reception" Rocket nodded before asking "so is she able to leave?"

"As soon as we can find her something suitable to wear then yes"

"Great!" Rocket replied "I'll go and collect the prescription while I'm waiting" and with that he ran off down the hallway as fast as his legs could carry him.

He hadn't been waiting for long before he heard approaching footsteps, he looked up to find Tia standing there, he got up and pulled her into a tight embrace

"Aah!" he released her immediately and began to apologizing profusely "sorry, I forgot about your arm! Are you OK?" she nodded "yeah I'm fine, just be a bit more careful next time!"

"I will don't worry! Oh and by the way" he grabbed a package off the front desk and handed it to her "the nurse said to take this if you feel in pain" she took it "thanks...I think" He smiled and took her hand in his own "right, time to take you home!" she stared at him in fear, he laughed "no not your home! I'm taking you back to mine!" she relaxed "whew! I thought-" then she remembered something "hang on, I thought your mum didn't like visitors"

"No she doesn't, but I'm not letting you go back to your home, not after all you've been through" Tia smiled and squeezed his hand gently "thanks I knew I could count on you" he looked down at her "you're welcome, and don't worry about my mum, I'll somehow manage to win her over"

"NO! ABSOLUTLY NO WAY!! SHE IS NOT STAYING HERE!!" Rockets mum yelled "we have enough on out plate already! And what if-" she lowered her voice "what if she finds out about 'you know what?' " Rocket had an answer ready "mum look, we have a spare room upstairs, she won't be any trouble plus, she won't find out about 'that' I swear. Please mum you have to let her stay; she has nowhere else to go!" His mum considered it for a minute or so before answering "fine, she can stay, but any trouble and she is out, do you understand? OUT!" Rocket nodded enthusiastically "of course mum! Don't worry!" he yelled as he sprinted away.

Tia sat in the drawing room, the very same one she had sat it when she and Rocket first met; she was tapping her foot and biting her nails nervously "what if his mum doesn't let me stay?" she thought "what will I do then? No don't be silly! He said he'd sort something out didn't he!" But she couldn't help having a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly she heard the sound of running footsteps, and then Rocket burst into the room "its ok! You can stay!" she stared at him "really? Are you serious?"

"Yes I am!" she beamed "thank you!" she cried "Oh thank you thank you thank you!!!" He smiled at her "OK, OK calm down, do you want to see your room or not?" She looked at him in embarrassment "sorry, I just got a little over excited!"

"That's OK, now follow me." He walked out of the room with Tia trotting happily after him.

"Here we are" he said, stopping outside a huge wooden door "My room's just two doors down so if you need me you know where to find me"

"OK, thanks" Tia replied, Rocket looked at her and noticed something was wrong. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. She looked up at him "Yeah I am, I just can't get over the fact that you're doing all this for me, no-one's been this kind to me before, so it's kind of hard to take it all in! I-" But Rocket placed a finger on her lips then, wordlessly, he kissed her.

It started off relatively innocent, but something began to boil up inside him, and he started to slide his hands underneath her shirt. She shivered but made no attempt to stop him; instead she pressed her body against his and, much to his surprise, gently nibbled on his bottom lip as if pleading for entrance which he happily allowed. Their tongues began to circle on another, slowly at first then faster and faster as the passion intensified. Reluctantly they broke away for air, Rocket looked at Tia with uncertainty, and he opened his mouth to say something but was prevented by Tia kissing him again, once again their tongues began the battle for dominance; but this time Tia began to pull Rocket towards the spare room with only one thing on her mind: she wanted him, and wanted him now. By now Rocket had figured out exactly what she was getting at and was more than happy to oblige.

As soon as the door closed behind them they fell on the bed, kissing feverishly, Tia slid a hand up his chest and began undoing the buttons of his shirt while he did the same for her, taking care not to hurt her bandaged arm. Soon they were both shirtless but they didn't stop there, Rocket reached down and undid his belt, then pulling down his trousers; next he began to slide Tia's trousers down her legs while kissing her neck, their underwear followed shortly afterwards. Rocket removed his lips from her neck to look her in the eye "are you sure?" He asked "does this answer your question?" she replied, before pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss and slipping beneath the covers....


	5. Chapter 5

Tia yawned and opened her eyes, she didn't know why, but she was feeling extremely happy. She looked over the side of the bed to see clothes scattered all over the floor "What the..." she muttered, then she felt something warm on her back, she turned over to see Rocket, fast asleep, beside her. "So it wasn't just a dream, we slept together, we actually slept together!!"

Rocket awoke to find Tia smiling at him "Tia? What are you doing here?" then it came back to him "Tia?"

"Yeah?"

"Did we...?"

"Yeah" Her stared in complete and utter shock, she giggled, the he finally spoke "You don't have any regrets...do you?"

"No of course not" she replied "why would I?" he gave her a look "Well, if you want me to be perfectly honest that was the probably the best night of my life." When Rocket heard this, he pulled her towards him and pressed his lips to hers, and then he flipped her around so she was below him, still kissing, while rubbing his hands up and down her sides; after a few seconds Tia broke away "we should get dressed" she said "come on, just a few more minutes won't hurt" Rocket replied seductively "let me rephrase that, we don't want your mum walking in on us do you?" His eyes widened "when you put it that way..." He almost leaped out of the bed and began to frantically hunt for his clothes while Tia sat laughing, he glared at her "could you be as kind as to stop making fun of me and help me find my clothes?" She smirked "nope! Can't be bothered!" He rolled his eyes "fine then, but could you at least look away while I get dressed?" She gave him a funny look "Why? You didn't seem to mind me looking at you last night."

"When did you get so flirty?" She grinned then shrugged "Haven't a clue!" He was about to reply when "Rocket where are you? I need you to help me out with something" Rocket and Tia looked at one another "Oh crud!" they both said simultaneously, how were they going to get out of this one? "Quick!" Tia whispered "you have to get out of here!"

"How? She's bound to come up the stairs at any moment!!"

"Just go!" She shouted, practically flinging the rest of clothes at him; he did so, running out of the door as possible, slamming the door behind him. A few seconds later, Tia heard Rocket's bedroom door slam and let out a sigh of relief "That was close" she thought "too close, we'll have to be more careful next time. Wait, next time? She'd only just slept with him and she was already thinking about a next time? What was wrong with her?!" She sighed and fell back onto her bed "well I'd better get dressed!" As she did so, she thought back to the night before and began to smile "Well Rocket, I don't know about you, but I feel that this relationship is going to get a lot better!"

_**It was now the Christmas holidays, Tia's arm had completely healed, but she still couldn't face pluck up the courage to return to her own home.**_

Tia and Rocket were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast when Rocket's mum walked in "Rocket, I've just received an urgent message regarding our 'family business,' this means that that I will have to leave you two alone until tomorrow, can I trust you both to behave while I'm gone?"

"Yes mum" replied Rocket "yes ma'am" replied Tia (even though Tia had been living under her roof for over a week, Rocket's mum wasn't yet on friendly terms with her yet and still insisted that she was called either 'Ma'am' or 'Miss') "Good!" she turned on her heel and walked out of the room "I'll be leaving in about fifteen minutes!"

"Goodbye!" called Rocket and Tia as they stood in the doorway, waving until the car was out of sight, then Tia turned to Rocket "So, what do you want to do now?" she asked, smiling seductively, he looked at her "me? I'm going to have a shower, back in ten!" he replied, running upstairs, leaving a very disgruntled Tia standing alone; she stood there for a while, then grinned as a plan began to formulate in her head "playing games are we Rocket? Well, I can play too" she thought to herself as she began to sneak up the stairs.

Rocket stepped out of the shower, clean and refreshed. He grabbed a pair of clean underpants out of the drawer and the same jeans he'd been wearing earlier and put them on then, he looked about him, confused "hang on a minute, where is my-"

"Looking for this?" He spun around to see Tia leaning against the door frame, his shirt in one hand, he took a step forward "give it back Tia." She gave a flirty smirk before answering "you'll have to catch me first" and with that she bolted out of his room, a shirtless Rocket hot on her heels.

They ran laughing down the stairs and along the hall until they reached the garden where Rocket launched himself forward and grabbed her around the waist, she squealed and lost her balance, toppling over and somehow managing to land on her back with Rocket on top of her, he grinned "I've got you! Now to get back my shirt!" But then he noticed that she wasn't holding it any more "where is it Tia?" she gave a stubborn grin "I'm not telling!" He sighed "I didn't want it to come to this but..." He leaned down and began to slowly kiss her neck; Tia bit her lip to hold back a groan "I'm still not telling you" she managed to gasp out "Really? How about now?" He said, licking and sucking down her collarbone, that was when it got all too much for Tia, "OK! OK! It's down the front of my shirt!" Rocket smiled triumphantly "That's better, now be a good girl and hold still." He gently began to push her shirt up until he found his own, he retrieved it but continued to push up her shirt, she gasped when he reached her bra "Rocket! Not here! Someone is bound to see us!" But he ignored her and began kissing down her stomach and was about to undo her trousers when she grabbed his hair and yanked his head up "Rocket..." He swallowed nervously, "Yeah?"

"Don't you think we should finish this...upstairs?" she replied, grinning mischievously, his eyes widened and he began nodding enthusiastically "y- yeah! OK!" When they got up, Tia dragged an excited Rocket inside, up the stairs and into his room, then falling together into a night of passion.

Rocket was the first to wake up, he looked at the beautiful girl asleep in his arms and smiled, she yawed and opened her eyes "morning" he whispered "morning" she whispered back; he was just leaning in to kiss her when "TIA! ROCKET! COME DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!!!"

"We're coming!" Rocket called back. "Geeze, what's got her all cranky?" Tia muttered as the quickly dressed "I don't know" replied Rocket.

When they got downstairs, they found Rocket's mum standing there, her hands on her hips and an angry look in her eye "what's wrong mum?" Rocket asked "well" his mother replied angrily "I was just getting out of my car when a neighbour stopped me, she said she knew is wasn't any of her business, but she just so happen to look over the fence to see you two enjoying a little make-out session!!! "

Rocket and Tia swallowed and looked at one another, they where so dead now...


	6. Chapter 6

After what seemed hours of yelling, Rocket's mum had decided that the best punishment for them was to forbid them from seeing each other for a whole week! Of course both of them thought that that was going a little too far, but they didn't feel brave enough to say so.

Tia sat on her bed, bored out of her mind; it was now late Friday evening and Rocket's mum hadn't got back from work, so after careful consideration, she decided to take a risk and go and visit Rocket. She crept along the hall and was about to knock on his door when she heard voices; it sounded like he was on the phone so she turned to leave when something he said caught her attention:

"Look mum don't worry, Tia's never going to know, and I'm never going to tell her! You can trust me on that!" He hung up, letting out a sigh "Never going to tell me what Rocket?" He spun around and saw Tia standing there, her hands on her hips and an expectant look on her face; he swallowed "Well? What is it? TELL ME!!"

"Um...Err..."

"ROCKET!" He jumped "Tia, listen, I-"

"JUST TELL ME!!" Knowing he was beaten, Rocket took a deep breath and began:

"_Well, it was about a year or so ago, when my mum and I still lived with my dad; we were pretty well off, I was going to a high class grammar school and my dad ran his own private business, my didn't have a job back then but we were getting all the money we needed from my dad. But he suddenly became obsessed with gambling, he began going out every night, and every night he came back empty handed; soon our vast amounts of cash began to dwindle rapidly and my mum was going nuts! She tried to get him to stop and he did, or so he said. Soon mum found out that he had been sneaking around and gambling in secret, this drove her absolutely mental! She yelled at him, telling him that he didn't deserve to have a job so well paid, as he was just spending it all on a stupid obsession, he argued back, saying that it was all just a bit of fun and that he'd win it all back soon, but he never did. By this time even I was getting irritated at my dad's behaviour, so my mum and I devised a plan, we decided the only way to stop him was to take the money for ourselves, by force if necessary"_

Tia stared at him, wide-eyed "you mean you..."

"We ran away, taking everything with us, including the deeds to dad's business" Tia backed away "you-you- how could you!!" Rocket took a step forward "Tia, you don't understand, we had no other choice, it-"

"No other choice?!" She yelled "NO-OTHER-CHOICE!?! He was your father! You're supposed to love your parents no matter what!"

"Oh really? What about you?"

"That's different!"

"No it's not! If your mum wasn't a drunk, then your life would be happy, if my dad hadn't been a gambler, my life would be happy, everyone would be happy, we'd all be one big happy family; but it's not like that, life is hard and sometimes forces us to make difficult decisions-"

"Well I'm about to make a decision that's far from difficult, I'M LEAVING!!" And with that, she spun on her heel, slamming the door behind her "TIA! WAIT!"

Tia sprinted out of the front door and across the road; sobbing as she went "how could he!" she thought tearfully "how could he lie to me all this time!" She turned a corner and headed into the park "I'm never going to speak to him again, never! I-" But she was cut short as a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist, yanking her behind a tree, "I've got you now!" whispered a voice that Tia knew all to well, she swallowed "mum..."

"Don't call me that!" she snarled "no daughter of mine would just run off without any warning! You're a disgrace to this family!" The shock of what her mum had just said swiftly turned to anger "I'm a disgrace? Have you had a look at yourself recently?!" That was the last straw, with a scream of rage, Tia's mum flung her across the grass, her head hit the ground and she fell unconscious. "Now time to get rid of you once and for all!!" Tia's mum growled, striding towards her and drawing a knife from her belt when "TIA!!"

Rocket came charging onto the scene, breathing heavily; he skidded to a halt when he saw Tia, then he saw who he presumed to be Tia's mum staring at him, a wild look in her eyes and a knife in one hand "YOU!!" She screeched and lunged at him, he dodged the attack, leaping to one side; but she kept going, she slammed headfirst into a tree "CRACK!" she fell to the ground, but never got back up again.

Rocket sprinted to Tia's side, "Tia!" he cried "Tia! Are you alright? Say something!"Her eyes fluttered open, "Rocket?" she whispered faintly "Rocket, is that you?" He let out a sigh of relief "Yes, yes it's me, listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I know I should have but-" He was silenced by Tia's finger on his lips "It's OK, you thought you were doing the right thing" He stared at her "you mean your going to forgive me just like that?" She gave him a look "I didn't say I had forgiven you, yet." She smiled; he didn't smile back "still, I had no right to keep that kind of thing away from you, I-"

"Rocket?"

"Yeah?"

"Just shut up and kiss me" he gave her a shocked look before leaning down to press his lips to hers "From now on" Rocket thought to himself "there will be no more secrets"

At least that's what he thought....


	7. Chapter 7

Soon after the incident, the police arrived; apparently someone had heard the commotion and summoned the authorities. Tia was taken to the hospital for a check up and was given the all clear, but her mum had suffered severe head injuries and was placed in intensive care, she was to remain there for at least four weeks until she recovered; to Tia this was very good news as she would be able to spend that time with Rocket.

It had now been about a week since the event; Rocket and Tia were snuggled up together on one of the huge sofas that dominated the main lounge, Rocket had one arm curled around Tia's waist, while the other hand was gently stroking her hair. However, he stopped when he heard Tia let out a huge sigh "are you OK?" He asked worriedly, she looked up at him "yeah I'm fine, just a little tired that's all"

"You said that yesterday, what's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing at all"

"Are you sure? Because if you need to talk-"

"Rocket I'm fine!" He gave her a look "There's something bothering you I can tell, so why don't you just tell me?"

"There's nothing to tell! I'm just tired" Rocket rolled his eyes and gave up, he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere; then an idea popped into his head and he smiled "Tia?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that my mum's busy in her study and won't be coming out for at least two hours, so that means we have time to do whatever we want...." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly, but he immediately sensed something wasn't right, he tried nipping on her bottom lip for entrance but she pulled away "I'm sorry Rocket I-I just can't"

"Why? You just said you were fine"

"I am, it's just-" But he interrupted her "It's OK, don't worry about it" They sat there in silence until Tia's mobile began to ring, she pulled it out of her pocket "hello?" she listened carefully for a few minutes, then her eyes widened "Oh...OK...right, bye!" She put it down "who was that?" Rocket asked "nobody" she replied faintly "excuse me a minute" she got up and quickly exited the room before Rocket had time to question her.

As soon as Tia closed the door behind her, she broke down sobbing "why?" she cried in-between sobs "I'm only fifteen, I'm not ready!"Then she turned and slammed her fist angrily against the wall "How could I have been so stupid!?!"

"Tia? Are you OK?" It was Rocket; she tried to compose herself before replying "Yeah, I'm fine"

"You don't sound fine, are you-"

"Rocket! Just shut up and go away!!!" He took a step back a shocked look on his face; he opened his mouth to say something, and then thought better of it. He turned away, sighing.

After hours of crying, Tia finally calmed down enough to think straight "I need to decide soon, before it's too late" she began to pace around her room "do I or don't I....?"

Rocket sat at the kitchen table, his head in his hands "why is she acting like this?" he thought to himself "there's got to be a logical reason" then it hit him "no...That can't be it, or can it? If it is, I've got to make her happy again, but how? I know! I'll take her to the cinema, there's a romantic comedy on that I'm sure she'll like!" With that in mind he got up and made his way back to Tia's room.

Tia was lying on her bed when she heard a knock on the door "Who is it?" she asked "Tia, it's me, Rocket, can I come in?" She thought for a moment before answering "yeah sure." He slowly opened the door "hey" he said "hey" she replied "what do you want?" He came over and sat next to her on the bed "Well...There's a movie on at the cinema and I was wondering-"

"I don't feel like watching a movie"

"How about dinner? There's this great place I know and-"

"I'm not hungry"

"Oh.....Well, I guess I'll be leaving you...." He got up and walked out of the room, turning around "are you sure?"

"Yeah"

He lowered his head and exited the room, closing the door behind him, "goodnight!" He called; there was no reply, so he walked off, feeling depressed. Then an idea struck him, "It's a risky idea, but it's worth a shot" he thought, before entering his room to prepare himself for tonight.

Tia had finally relaxed enough, and she had fallen asleep, so she didn't hear her door open; but she did feel a pair of strong arms slide their way around her waist, her eyes shot open and she twisted round to come nose to nose with Rocket "What are you doing!!" she hissed, he raised an eyebrow "Haven't you figured it out yet?" When she shook her head, he grinned mischievously "let me give you a clue..." he swiftly leaned down and crashed his lips down onto hers, she let out a gasp of shock and surprise, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. Then his hands moved down to her waist and he began to lift up her shirt; then Tia began to struggle in his grip, when he didn't let go, she wriggled around and kicked him in the nuts. He gasped in pain and doubled over; she crawled out from under him "sorry! But you shouldn't have done something like that!!" Once he had recovered from the pain, Rocket slowly sat up glaring at her, she was about to speak when he cut in "what is with you!?!" He whispered angrily "all I've been doing is trying to cheer you up but you keep turning me away!!"

"You don't understand! I-"

"Don't you love me any more? Is that it?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course I still love you!"

"Then what is it?"

"I-I can't tell you"

"See! You're at it again!"

"Rocket-"

"Why are you being so secretive? What have I done that's made you like this huh? What?"

"Rocket I-"

"Let me guess, 'you're not going to tell me' why not? Why are you-"

"Because-"

"No, I don't want another excuse, just tell me what-"

"ROCKET, I'M PREGNANT!!!!"


	8. Chapter 8

Rocket sat there, his mouth agape "w-what did you say??"

"Rocket, I said I'm pregnant" he leapt off the bed and began to run in circles "What? Why? This is impossible!! I was careful, I'm sure I was!!! Aaaahh!! What do I do??? I-" Then Tia stood up and grabbed his arm "Rocket, calm down!!"

"Calm down?? You're pregnant and I'm supposed to calm down!!!"

"Rocket!! GET-A-GRIP!!" She shouted, seizing both his shoulders and shaking him roughly "O-K-just-stop-shak-ing-me!" He managed to stutter out. When she finally stopped, they both sat back down on the bed. After sitting there for what seemed ages, Rocket spoke "you should get rid of it" Tia stared at him "what??"

"The baby, you should get rid of it"

"Why???"

"Why? Tia, you're 15, that's far too young to have a baby, you're not ready to-"

"NOT READY!?!" Tia screamed "How do you know that? How can you prove it?"

"Tia I just said! You're-"

"15, yes I know!!!"

"Then why do you want to keep it???"

"because...because when my father died, I was reduced to little more than a punch-bag, something for my mum to take her anger out on, I lost my purpose. But if I have this child I'll regain a purpose, I'll be a mum and I'll have the chance to have a proper, happy family, something I hardly ever got to have!!" Rocket opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand "Rocket, I don't care what you think; I'm keeping this baby no matter what you say!!"

"So I don't get any say in this whatsoever??"

"No you don't"

"But I'm the father! I should have at least some say in what happens!! "

"Oh really? Well you're not the one who has to go through with everything, are you!?!"

"No, I know that but-"

"I'm not listening to anything you say, I AM keeping the baby, and if that means carrying on without you, then so be it!"

"Right then, I guess I should be leaving then huh?"

"Yes, you should!!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Good!" Rocket stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

Tia glared after him for a few seconds before the reality of what had just happened hit home, then she began to sob "so this is it" she thought miserably "it's over, after all we've been through together...." Then she broke down and began to cry and cry...

Rocket stalked around his room muttering angrily to himself "How dare she! I'm the father, I should be allowed to have my say in what happens to-" Then he froze, he thought he could hear crying, he listened intently the realised who it was "Tia..." he muttered, then he bolted out of his room as fast as possible.

When he reached Tia's door, he hesitated "what if she's still angry with me?" he thought, the he shook his head "no, she's upset, I can't just leave her like this!" And with that in mind he slowly began to open the door "Tia?" He asked nervously "Tia, are you alright?" She didn't reply, so he opened the door fully to find Tia lying on her bed, crying her eyes out; he instantly ran over and knelt down beside her "Tia, Tia it's me..."

"W-what do you want!?!" She said between sobs "I thought you h-hated m-m-me!!" His eyes widened "hate you? No! I would never hate you!!!"

"T-that's not what it sounded like e-earlier"

"I was in shock; I never meant any of those things!!"

"Even what you said about getting rid of the baby?" He thought about this question before answering "yes even that, you were right; you're the one who has to go through everything, not me" She looked up at him "You mean it?" he nodded "of course, and I just want you to know that whatever you decide to do; I'm behind you all the way"

"Really?"

"Really" Rocket replied, pulling her into a tight hug; Tia smiled "thank you" she whispered, Rocket smiled back, then asked "are you sure you're ok now?" She nodded "ok then" he said getting up "I'll be in my room if you need me and-"

"Rocket, wait!" He turned to look at her "what is it?"

"Could you….could you just, stay with me, while I'm sleeping, I know it sounds a bit strange but I-I feel, well, safer with you near me" he grinned "of course, and it doesn't sound strange at all!" He clambered back onto the bed and pulled her close "I this better?" he whispered gently "yes" she mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

Rocket's eyes fluttered open; he yawned and turned over to pull Tia to him, only she…wasn't there? Instantly he bolted upright and glanced around in panic, he relaxed however, when he saw her standing on the balcony; he got up and walked over to her "morning!" he said grinning "morning" she muttered, his grin faded "you're thinking about the baby again, aren't you?" she nodded "I'm just a little nervous, that's all" Rocket slid an arm around her waist "hey, it's ok, I'm here for you; no matter what happens" She sniffed and looked around at him "thank you" she replied, smiling slightly, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead "you're welcome."

They stood there for a while until Rocket spoke again "so...do you know how long you're gone?" She shook her head "no, I only asked for the basic results"

"You know, you could get a scan done, the clinic's open all day and-" Tia cut him off "ok, I'll go today....but only if you come with me" Rocket smiled "of course"

Tia and Rocket sat in the waiting room, Tia was biting her nails and Rocket was constantly tapping his foot impatiently, when Tia's name was finally called, they turned to one another "ready?" Rocket asked "ready" Tia replied uncertainly, then they got up and followed the doctor into the scanner room.

"Just to warn you, this will be a little bit cold" the doctor said, even though she had been warned, Tia couldn't help but inhale sharply as the gel touched her stomach. Rocket squeezed her hand comfortingly and was about to speak but Tia interrupted him "how long am I gone sir?" she asked the doctor nervously "hmmm... I'd say about 8 weeks" the doctor replied, Tia looked at Rocket who smiled in relief, so they had quite a while left to prepare; then the doctor said something that took them both by surprise "you know, this is about the time we can tell the baby's gender, would you like to know?" Tia's face lit up "yes, yes please!"

"Right then" the doctor studied the scan for about a minute, suddenly Rocket couldn't take the suspense any longer "so? What is it?" The doctor smiled "congratulations, it's a boy!" Tia and Rocket looked at one another, joy plastered all over their faces.

"We're going to have a baby boy!! We're going to have a baby boy!!" Rocket shouted, dancing around in circles as the left the clinic; Tia walked behind, laughing at his childish antics, then a thought occurred to her "Rocket..." He stopped mid-dance and looked at her "what?"

"I hate to break the mood but, how are we going to explain this to your mum?" His expression instantly switched to one of worry "oh yeah.... that could be a problem...."


	9. Chapter 9

After a few minutes of worried conversation, Tia and Rocket had decided that the easiest option was to get it over and done with and tell Rocket's mum as soon as they got home; but although Tia had agreed, there was still one detail that kept bugging her "are you sure you don't want me there too?" she asked, Rocket nodded "I'm sure, after all we don't know how badly she's going to react to the news, and I don't want you to be put under any unnecessary stress, especially in you condition..." Tia let out a reluctant sigh "alright, but if anything goes wrong-"

"Don't worry, I can handle it" Rocket replied "after all, I have had to put up with her for 16 years!" He grinned; Tia just rolled her eyes and smiled.

When they walked through the front door, Tia and Rocket looked at one another nervously "are you sure?" Tia whispered, Rocket leant down and pressed his forehead against her "yes" he whispered back, Tia gave him a quick kiss before hurrying up the stairs. Rocket watched her go, then he took a deep breath and headed in the direction of the living room....

Rocket's mum was busy watching T.V when he walked in, he stood there for a minute or so before speaking "mum?" She turned to him "hello dear! Where were you this morning? I couldn't find you anywhere!!"

"Well, Tia and I went to the hospital-"

"Really? What's wrong? Are you ok?" Rocket swallowed "I'm fine, and nothing's wrong it's just-" "Just what?"

"Well...I don't know how to say this but..." He hesitated "Tia's pregnant" He braced himself, but nothing happened, instead his mum stood up and began walking out of the room, Rocket raced after her "hey! Where are you going?!?" She spun around "where am I going? I'm going to tell that little slut to get out of my house right now!!!" Rocket stared at her in shock, then he spoke again "but you can't!!"

"Oh really? And why not??"

"Because I'm the father!!!" The silence seemed to last forever, then Rocket's mum spoke "well, even more of a reason to kick her out!! I'm not having a girl like her pregnant with my grandchild!! It's utterly disgraceful!!"

"Wait, so you're not going to blame me for any of this??" She glared at him "of course I will, you're grounded for the rest of month!!" Rocket clenched his fists in anger "not I'm not!" he growled, she turned to him "excuse me??"

"I said, I'm not grounded!! If Tia leaves, so do I!!! "

"You won't leave!!"

"Oh yeah?? Just watch me!!" And with that, Rocket stormed out of the room.

Tia glanced up as Rocket entered the room "so? How'd it go-hey, what are you doing??"

"Tia, pack your bags, we're leaving" She blinked rapidly "W-what? Why??" Rocket walked over to her "because she said she was going to kick you out, so I told her that if you go, so do I"

"But Rocket, this is your home; you can't just give it all up for me!!" Rocket strode over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace "If you leave, it won't feel like home any more" He released her and she was about to speak when Rocket interrupted her

"Tia, look, before I met you, my life was dull and boring, all I did was travel from place to place, school to school; all the time on the move and never getting the chance to make friends. But then you came along, and you immediately stood out, I didn't know why, but you did. And now we're going to have a baby together, don't you see? We are meant to be together! Tia I am never, ever going to leave you or our little boy" Tia looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes "Rocket....I-" But she was cut off as Rocket leant down and kissed her passionately. When he broke away, he looked deep into her eyes "I love you, don't forget that" she smiled "I love you too" he smiled back at her, then she spoke again "are you sure you want to go through with this?" He nodded "of course, I'd do anything for you"

"Well then, I guess we should start packing."

After about five minutes of hurried packing, both of them came down the stairs and headed for the door, Rocket uttered a quick 'bye' to his mum, who didn't reply because she was in shock. As they walked down the street, Tia glanced up at Rocket "what do we do now?" she asked "we have nowhere to go" But Rocket shook his head "I already thought of that, I managed to grab enough money to book us into a hotel down the road, and some spare to buy food" Tia smiled "you really do know how to plan ahead don't you??" He grinned.

Once they had booked a room, Rocket left Tia to get unpacked while he went out to get something to eat, he seemed to be gone for ages, and Tia was beginning to get worried; when he opened the door, she leapt up, ran over and gave him a bone-crushing hug, he stumbled back in surprise "h-hey! I was only gone for about 15 minutes!!"

"It felt like a lot longer to me" She replied, her voice slightly muffled against his chest; they both stayed like that for a while before Rocket spoke "err, Tia?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let me go now...." She instantly sprung back, a huge blush on her cheeks "sorry, but I really missed you" He grinned "I missed both of you too" he replied, and when she looked at him in confusion, he gestured to her stomach and she smiled in realisation, then he reached into one of the carrier-bags "that reminds me, I've got something for you...ah! Here it is!!" he pulled out a little book and handed it to her, she took it and glanced at the title "a book full of baby names?" she gave him a funny look "don't you think it's a little early?" He shrugged "I thought it might take your mind off what's been going on..." She smiled and placed to book on a side-table "thanks, but I think I'll save that until tomorrow, I'm exhausted!" Rocket nodded in agreement "yeah, me too, let's go to bed"

As they lay there, Tia glanced up "Rocket?"

"Yeah?"

"What do we do now? I mean, we've used up all the money and-" He hushed her "don't worry about that for now, wait until the morning"

"Ok" she muttered "goodnight"

"Goodnight Tia" Rocket replied, before drifting off to sleep.....


	10. Chapter 10

Rocket lay on the bed with an unconscious Tia in his arms, a few minutes ago Tia had suffered from morning sickness and had thrown up violently; now she was sleeping soundly and Rocket didn't dare move in case he woke her, instead he gazed at the ceiling and thought back to yesterday's events "What do we do now?" he thought worriedly "we can't go back home, we can't stay here, and all of our money's gone..." Then an idea struck him, but he pushed it away "no, that's too risky, and I know Tia won't like it" but he couldn't help thinking about it as he fell asleep...

As the day passed Rocket kept on acting strange and it was starting to get on Tia's nerves. Finally she couldn't take it any more "what is up with you?" she burst out, making Rocket jump "why are you acting so weird? Every time I try and make conversation you brush me aside!"

"Tia I-"

"What's going on? Tell me!" Rocket swallowed before answering "You see....I've been thinking about...About where we're going to go after today..." Tia's angry expression turned to one of sadness "oh...."

"I thought we had nowhere to go, and then I had an idea..." Tia's face brightened "Really? You know where we can go?" Rocket hesitated "Well...kinda..."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Tia exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Rocket's wrist and dragging him towards the door "Wait!" Rocket shouted, and she stopped to look at him "what is it?"

"You see, the place I was thinking of...was your house..." Tia stiffened "What?"

"I just though that it would be a good idea, with your mum in hospital, the house is free and-"

"Are you nuts?" Tia said fearfully "there is no way I'm going back there again!" She began to back away, but Rocket pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her "hey, look, I understand why you don't want to go back there, but think about it; it's all we have"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"And it's not as if you're going to be alone, I'll be with you" She looked up at him "really?"

"Of course, I'll never let you out of my sight" Tia sniffed "you're amazing, you know that? Our son is going to be so proud to have you as his father" Rocket smiled and lifted her chin so their eyes could meet "and he'll be proud to have you as his mother" Then he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She slipped her arms around his neck as tears began to flow down her cheeks; then Rocket broke away and pressed his forehead against hers, they stayed like that for a while until he spoke again "so, are you sure you want to do this?" Tia hesitated, then nodded "yes, like you said, it's all we have"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Alright then, do you want to start packing now or...?" Then Tia cut in "Rocket, let's just go, before I change my mind" And with that she turned away and began to collect her belongings, Rocket soon followed.

When they opened the front door of Tia's house, Rocket took a step inside then realised Tia wasn't with him. He turned round to see her standing at the front gate with a scared look in her eyes; he walked back over to her and slid an arm around her shoulders "are you alright?" "I can't do it" she mumbled "I'm sorry, I just can't" Rocket sighed and pulled her close "yes you can" he whispered in her ear "remember, I'm here, and I'm never going to leave you" She looked up at him, took a deep breath and began to walk down the path. Once they were inside, Rocket let go of her and made his way to the kitchen where he began to open cupboards "there's quite a lot of food in here!" He called "we should be able to manage for a few weeks" but there was no reply, he ran into the hallway and found Tia staring at a picture hanging lop-sided on the wall, he came closer and realised that it was a photo, in it were Tia, her mum and who he assumed to be her dad; they were all laughing merrily, without a care in the world. Rocket walked up behind her, but before he could say anything, Tia spoke ", he wasn't just my dad you know, he was my best friend, he was always there when I needed him..." She began to cry, seeing this Rocket automatically pulled her into a comforting embrace "shhh, hey it's ok...."

"I-I really miss him" She managed to mumble between sobs "I know you do, but you have to be strong...he would want you to be" She looked into his eyes "I guess you're right..." He smiled "that's better, now let's get you something to eat, you must be hungry" she nodded so both walked back to the kitchen.

They were halfway through their meal when they heard a knock on the door; they both froze "who could that be?" Rocket whispered "I-I don't know" Tia whispered back "should we answer it?" Rocket thought about this for a minute "I think we should"

"But what if it's my mum?"

"Of course it won't be, she's still in hospital remember?"

"Good point..." Tia muttered, getting up "I'll get it"

"Are you sure you don't want me there?"

"I do but think about it, You're not supposed to be living here are you? What if you answer the door and it's some kind of inspector; you would be in real trouble" Rocket sighed "fine, but if you need me, I'm here..."

"I know, don't worry" She called as she walked down the hall and opened the door; then Rocket heard her gasp, "Rocket, could you come here...Now!" He got up and ran to join her "what's the matt-" Then he froze; there, standing on the front step was his mum "what are you doing here?" He asked angrily, after the shock had worn off. "I came here to apologize" his mum "I didn't realise how much you loved each other; please come back" Tia and Rocket looked at one another, then nodded "we'll come back, but only for a while, just to sort things out" Rocket's mum reluctantly agreed.

Rocket and his mum stood talking in the kitchen as Tia, who was exhausted, had fallen asleep on the sofa in the lounge and Rocket had thought it best to let her rest.

"I'm sorry, I really am" His mum said for the hundredth time "I never realised-"

"How much we love each other, I know"

"But I am sorry..."

"Are you willing to let me and Tia stay, even though she's pregnant?"

"Yes, yes I am"

"Will you help us take care of the baby when it is born?" His mum hesitated "I will do my best" She replied reluctantly; Rocket smiled "thanks mum" then he turned around, but his mum called out to him as he left "does this mean I'm forgiven?" he looked at her "no, not completely" and with that he returned to his sleeping angel....


	11. Chapter 11

_**About 9 months later...  
**_

Rocket yawned and opened his eyes, then he turned over to gaze at the girl who was fast asleep beside him.

Tia was now heavily pregnant; her stomach had grown almost three times its normal size. During the pregnancy Rocket had constantly worried, and even though Tia had insisted that everything was fine, that didn't stop him from dragging her to the hospital once or twice a month for a check-up.

Rocket smiled as he saw her eyes flutter open "morning gorgeous" he whispered; she giggled "morning"  
"how's our little one?"  
"Fine, perfectly fi-oh!" she gasped and put both hands on her stomach, Rocket sat bolt upright "what is it? What's wrong? Are you-"  
"Rocket I'm fine, could you come here a sec…." Rocket shuffled closer to her, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach; a few seconds later, he felt something push up against his hand, his eyes widened "did you feel that?" Tia asked smiling "he's kicking!" Rocket's face broke into a massive grin "amazing..." he whispered "I know!" Tia replied, "He's going to be a little fighter!" Rocket smiled then leant forward and planted his lips on hers. When he pulled away Tia gave him a funny look "what was that for?"

"for being so strong"

"what do you mean?"

"You've been through so much, your dad's death, your mum's drunken abuse and finally this pregnancy; how you've been able to hold yourself together is beyond me!"  
Tia looked away "actually, I'm not as strong as you think…I handled my dad's death because mum was there to comfort me, but as soon as she became drunk I had no-one; there were some moments when I felt I just couldn't take it any more…one of those times I almost committed suicide…" Rocket slid his arms around her and pulled her close "I was going to take an overdose but…."  
"But what?"

"But something in my head told me to stop, that I would be happy, all I had to do was wait….and now look what happened! I'm pregnant and living with the man of my dreams…"  
Rocket grinned and looked down at her "really? And who is this 'man of your dreams?"  
"You. Stupid!" Tia replied laughing, punching him lightly on the arm "Ow! That hurt! I'll get you for that!" Then he began to tickle her, causing her to burst into fits of laughter; he only stopped when he heard his mum calling up the stairs "Rocket! Are you ready yet?" Rocket sighed "coming!"

(When the holidays had ended, Rocket's mum insisted that he went back to school, and when he protested about wanting to stay; Tia stepped in and told him that it was the best thing to do, so finally he agreed)  
Rocket kissed Tia's forehead, then her lips "bye Tia" he said, then leant down and kissed her stomach "bye junior" he whispered, Tia giggled, then gasped again, Rocket looked up at her "what?"  
"I think he heard you!" Rocket grinned, then placed a hand on Tia's stomach and rubbed it gently "Tia?"

"yeah?"

"I love you"

"I love you too" Tia replied; then Rocket leant over to kiss her, but was interrupted by his mum yelling up the stairs again "Rocket, come down here NOW!" The couple looked at one another "you should go" said Tia

"Yeah but-"

"Rocket I'll be fine! The baby's not due for another week at least!" Rocket sighed "fine, but if anything goes wrong, just call me" Tia rolled her eyes "for goodness sake Rocket! I know, just go!" Rocket reluctantly got up and walked out of the room; then he popped his head back round the door "oh, and Tia-"

"Rocket! Go! Now!"

"I'm going I'm going, sheesh!"

Rocket sat at his desk staring into space; it was the last lesson of the day but it seemed to be taking forever! All Rocket could think about was how Tia was doing... "Rocket?" He spun round to see the school secretary leaning through the doorway "Rocket, could you come with me please?" he nodded and got up to follow her. When they reached her office she picked up the phone and handed it to him, he took it and placed it to his ear "hello?"  
"Rocket, it's me"

"Mum? What are you-"

"It's Tia, she's in labour"

"WHAT?"

"We're being driven to the hospital now, I'll-" She stopped mid-sentence, then Rocket heard Tia mumble something in the background; his mum spoke again, obviously to her "Tia I don't think that would be a good idea, not at this current time" Tia mumbled again, a little more urgent this time; Rocket's mum sighed "fine, but only for a few minutes" Rocket waited for a few seconds before he could hear Tia on the other end of the phone "Rocket" she managed to stutter out, her breathing fast and strained "Rocket, are you there?"

"Yes, yes I'm here! Are you alright?"

"What-do-you-think!" She replied angrily "of course I'm not-AAAHH!" She let out an ear-piercing scream, Rocket began to panic "Tia? Tia!" Then he heard his mum on the phone again "Rocket, meet me in the hospital waiting room, get there as soon as you can!" Then she hung up. Rocket slammed the phone back on the receiver and sprinted out of the room.

Rocket burst through the hospital front doors; he immediately caught sight on his mum and ran over to her, she glanced up when she heard him "Where's Tia? Is she ok?"

"I don't know, she's in the ward but they're not letting anyone it"

"Why?"

"Well, they were saying something about doing a c-section…." Rocket's eyes widened "What! Why? What's-" but he stopped when he noticed a doctor approaching "you can come and see her now" Rocket and his mum looked at one another, then both of them got up and walked after him. As the doctor was about to open the ward door, he turned to Rocket "I wish to warn you, she isn't in a very stable condition so you'll have to be careful" Rocket stared at him "what do you mean?"

"She passed out during labour, and so far she hasn't recovered" Rocket didn't wait another second, he pushed open the door, ran across the ward and skidded to a halt at Tia's bedside. Her face was almost covered by breathing apparatus and her right arm was attached to a machine by a multiple of wires. Rocket sank to his knees ""no, Tia…." His mum walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder "she's going to be ok" Rocket looked up at her "I hope you're right mum" he turned back to gaze at Tia's sleeping form "I hope you're right…."


	12. Chapter 12

Hour after hour, day after day, Rocket sat by Tia's bedside, refusing to move in case she woke. But after almost a week of watching and waiting, even he was starting to loose hope "come on Tia, wake up...!" he muttered pleadingly "wake up, please…" but Tia's eyes remained closed, her body remained perfectly still. Rocket sighed, got up and began to leave, tears sliding down his cheeks. Then he froze, he could hear coughing, he spun around to see Tia's whole body convulsing with coughs; he sprinted over to her and grabbed the breathing mask, pulling it off her face "Tia! Tia are you ok?" The coughing died down and Tia slowly opened her eyes "Rocket? Is that you…?" Rocket smiled from ear to ear "yes! Yes it's me!" Are you ok?" she smiled blearily "I've felt better…" Then Rocket leant down and pulled her into a tight embrace "I was so worried about you…" he whispered "I thought you'd gone forever…" when he pulled away Tia looked at him "why?"

"You passed out during labour, and you were unconscious for about a week-"  
"Wait, was unconscious for how long?"

"A week"

"Oh….my God…" Tia mumbled, "Rocket, I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, it wasn't your fault!"

"Yes it was! If I'd been stronger during labour-" Then she stopped "Rocket...?"

"Yes..?"

"Where's the baby?" Rocket mentally slapped himself, the baby! How could he have forgotten? "I-I don't know" He confessed "I haven't seen him..."

"I want to see him"

"Tia I don't think that's a very good-"

"Rocket! I want to see him!" Rocket sighed "ok, I'll see what I can do..." He got up and walked off to find a member of staff...

A short while later, Rocket returned with the doctor following close behind, the doctor walked over to her "good to see that you've regained consciousness, but I'll need to run a few tests to make sure you've recovered fully "

"But I want to see my baby!"

"You will, as soon as I've completed these tests, I promise"

And sure enough, as soon as the doctor had finished, a nurse came into the room with a small bundle in her arms; she walked over to Tia and placed it in her waiting arms, then her and the doctor exited the room.

Gently Tia pulled the cloth away to see her sons face, she smiled "he looks just like you..." Rocket leant over to look and smiled too. The baby did indeed look like Rocket, he had tanned skin and a tiny tuft of brown hair; but then he opened his eyes to reveal that they were blue; "but he has your eyes..." Rocket whispered, Tia grinned widely then turned back to gaze at the child in her arms "Isn't he amazing...?" she asked, Rocket smiled then reached over and placed a hand on her cheek, turning her face towards him "yes he is, and so are you..." he said, before leaning in and giving her a deep, passionate kiss...

When they finally broke away Rocket spoke "what do you think we should name him?" Tia gazed at her son for a long time before answering "well, I was thinking Daniel...what do you think?" Rocket looked at her thoughtfully, and then nodded "I think that's a perfect name!" Tia smiled "so, Daniel it is then!" Rocket smiled back, then he leant down to his son "hello Daniel" he whispered "It's me, your daddy!" Daniel gazed up at him with his huge blue eyes, then he reached up, grabbed a fistful of Rocket's hair, and pulled it; hard. Rocket yelped and sprang back, Tia giggled as she watched him rub his sore scalp; then her attention switched back to Daniel as he began to cry; acting on instinct she began to rock her arms and hum softly. Eventually Daniel stopped crying and gurgled happily as Tia continued to rock him in her arms, then she stopped and began to stroke his cheek gently "is that better now? Did daddy scare you with his big girly scream?" she cooed, tickling his chin; Rocket glared at her "that's not fair! He made me jump!" Tia rolled her eyes and smiled "I know that silly!" she exclaimed, leaning over and ruffling his hair "hey! Gerroff!" he protested, she giggled; then both of them looked back to Daniel who was waving his arms in Rocket's direction. Tia smiled "I think he wants you to hold him!" Rocket backed away "no thanks, I would prefer to keep my hair on my head thank you!"

"Rocket come on! He didn't mean it, he's just a baby! Please...?" she asked, giving him a pleading look; Rocket sighed "ok then..." he reached down and picked up Daniel "better?" He asked Daniel, who responded with a gurgle; when Rocket heard this he couldn't help but smile again, it was too adorable, and then Daniel reached up again, but this time he grabbed Rocket's finger and squeezed it. Rocket gazed down at his son and felt tears welling up in his eyes "I'm a dad" he whispered "I really am a dad..."


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for taking so long to update! Last year of school is turning out to be an absolute nightmare! But I finally got it up! wooo! **

**But from now on updates on all my stories will not be as frequent as I would like, but there will be updates! That I can promise you! **

**Also I apologise if the ending seems lame at all, it was kinda rushed cause I had to finish it in-between writing an essay!**

**Anyways, enough of my babbling, on with the story!**

_A few weeks later_

The blissful silence that filled the household was suddenly shattered by the sound of crying.

Tia groaned and buried her head deeper into the pillow _'that's the third time tonight'_ she thought exasperatedly _'why won't he just go to sleep..?'_ She lay there for a while listening to Daniel's crying, then turned over to see that Rocket was still fast asleep and completely oblivious to his son's constant screaming.

Tia rolled her eyes before leaning over and giving him a good punch in the ribs "Rocket!" Within seconds, Rocket was awake and shook his head from the sudden awakening. He looked around him and found Tia looking at him with_ that _look in her eyes. "What?" he asked. Tia glared at him "Daniel needs feeding!"

"Well can't you feed him?" Rocket asked before trying to turn back over.

Tia seethed 'Rocket, he's woken up twice already tonight and I've had to get him! Now go and take care of your son _now_!' she ordered him and Rocket sighed heavily before slowly getting out of the bed and going to tend to his son while Daniel's aggravated mother tried to go back to sleep.

'Hey son, Daddy's here!' Rocket smiled as he lifted his son out of the cot while being carefully not to spill the contents of the bottle before rocking his son as he fed him. Rocket's body relaxed with relief as his son stopped crying but he continued to gently rock him anyways as it was keeping him awake. Even though it was late and he was exhausted, seeing his son so quiet and calm made Rocket smile as he continued to feed his son and also think about Tia's unusual behaviour recently.

He didn't get it really. Tia hadn't been her usual bubbly self lately and he knew it was partially because of Daniel. They were parents now and he knew it was bound to have an effect on them both but Tia seemed much more stressed out and abnormal in comparison to Rocket which he couldn't understand. They balanced it out in looking after Daniel (or so he thought) and things between them personally were fine but Tia soon began to get more distant, saying she was tired a while after Daniel's birth. They only had a short time together and he thought they would make the most out of it but Tia always went off to bed early and would say she was tired but what she was tired from, Rocket didn't understand. He knew it would be tiring work but he was fine and they were balanced, he didn't see how it was taking more out of her than him.

'Maybe it's a mother thing,' Rocket joked with his son who had fallen back to sleep shortly after his feeding and everything else though Rocket was too contended rocking him to put him back into his cot just yet. After a further ten minutes, Rocket was getting tired and fearing his legs or arms may just go from the tiredness, he carefully put his sleeping son back into bed before kissing his forehead and returning to his and Tia's room. Rocket sighed heavily as he entered the room and when he approached the bed, he found his darling Tia fast asleep. Rocket could only smile as he lay down next to her and pulled her close until he could smell the sweet lavender smelling shampoo that lingered in her hair…

Rocket yawned, stretched then turned over to find that Tia was no longer beside him. He instantly got up and hurried out of the room and towards the nursery, but relaxed when he saw his angel kneeling beside Daniels cot. He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder "you look exhausted, why don't I feed him?" he asked gently. She spun round and glared at him "oh, so you care NOW!" she snapped, making Rocket take a few steps back "of course I do! I always have cared!" He protested but Tia had an answer ready "oh really? Then why were you so reluctant to get your lazy butt out of bed last night when Daniel needed feeding?"

Rocket hesitated before replying "I don't understand! We had the feeding schedule completely balanced!" Tia seethed "completely balanced?" she asked between gritted teeth "completely balanced! You call me waking up almost three times a night to feed our son while you only get up at 11:00 after a long nights sleep completely balanced!"

Rocket stared at her, completely taken aback "b-but you seemed perfectly fine with it!"

"DO I LOOK PERFECTLY FINE TO YOU!" Rocket opened his mouth to answer when another voice cut in.

"Ok you two! Calm down!" It was Rockets mum who had spoken. She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised "look at what you've done! You've made Daniel cry again!" Both teens turned to look at their son who was indeed just starting to cry once more, but just as Tia was about to pick him up Rocket's mum pushed past her and scooped Daniel up in her arms. Tia began to protest but Rocket's mum cut her off "no! This has gone on long enough! What you really need is a break, just the two of you without Daniel!"

"But mum!" Rocket protested "who would care for Daniel?" His mum raised an eyebrow "isn't it obvious? Me of course!"

Tia stepped in "Look, ma'am, I know this may seem rude but after the kicking out incident…we don't really trust you that much…"

Rocket's mum placed a hand on her shoulder "and that is exactly what I intend to change. All the time you have been here I have treated you as a stranger and made you feel like you didn't belong here; but since you gave birth to my grandson I have begun to realize that you do belong here and that you are very important to my son…" she swallowed "and, I don't know how to put this, but you are like the daughter I never had."

Tia looked up at her with wide eyes "r-really?" she asked, shocked. Nobody had ever said that to her before!

Rocket's mum smiled warmly "yes, really" Tia's lip began to quiver and her eyes filled with tears "but ma'am I-"

"Please, call me Val"

"Ok then…Val"

Meanwhile, Rocket, who had been standing to one side watching the scene unfold, slowly walked over and stood beside the two most important women in his life. "Ok then mum" he said "can we really trust you with Daniel?"

"I will guard him with my life" Val replied strongly "no harm will come to your son, I promise"

Rocket smiled then turned to Tia "Tia? Do you think we can trust her?" Tia nodded profusely "yes yes of course!" she exclaimed, gazing with new-found adoration at Val.

Rocket returned the nod and looked up at his mum "alright then, we'll go"

Rocket and Tia were walking home after eating at a comfy café. During the meal they had discussed the situation with Daniel and had come to an agreement: they would each take it in turns to feed their son both day and night, and they would also step in for the other if things got too much.

Tia sighed and leant on Rocket's arm as they walked along "this is just perfect…" she said dreamily "just you and me…no Daniel crying for our attention…"

Rocket stopped and looked at her "wait, you mean to say that you don't like having Daniel around?" Tia stared at him with a shocked look on her face "no of course not! I love him to bits! But it is nice to be able to relax and forget about our responsibilities for once." Rocket grinned "I agree, it's been a long time since we've been able to go out as a couple" Her leant down and kissed her deeply "and a long time since I've been able to do that…" he whispered. Tia giggled and pulled him back into the kiss…

The pair chatted and laughed as they reached the door and unbolted it, Rocket called out "Mum we're home!" but there was no reply. Rocket frowned "mum? Where are you?"

"Listen!" Tia whispered, he did and heard the sound of muffled shouting coming from behind the living room door. Rocket marched up to the door and pulled it open "mum? What's-?"

But he stopped mid-sentence, let out a gasp and pulled Tia behind him, then he spoke

"Dad…"

**uh oh, Rocket's dad is back ,that can't be good! stay tuned to see what happens!**


	14. Chapter 14

Tia peered round Rocket's shoulders to see a tall, broad shouldered man standing in the middle of the room, he spun around when he heard Rocket's voice and narrowed his eyes "well well, hello Rocket..." He said in a half snarl, half whisper.

"Rocket! Go!" It was then that both Tia and Rocket noticed Val pressed into a corner "I'll handle him" she said, stepping forward "Go!" Just as Rocket was about to reply, his dad lunged forward and grabbed Val's arm. She began to struggle violently in his grip "let me go!" She exclaimed repeatedly, but to no avail, he held on fast. Rocket took a bold step forward in an attempt to help free him mum when his dad suddenly pulled a gun from under his shirt and held it in the direction of Val's face "one more step and she dies..." He growled. Rocket froze, what was he supposed to do?

All of a sudden Val twisted round, forcing Rocket's dad to stumble forward. The gun went off, making a huge bang, then there was silence.

A few moments later there came the muffled sound of Daniel's crying who had obviously been awakened by the sound of the gun going off. Rocket glanced in the direction of the stairs, then back into the room when he suddenly noticed his dad staring intently in the direction of Daniel's crying. Their eyes met and suddenly Rocket knew what his dad was thinking.

In one swift movement Rocket's dad jumped to his feet and barged past Rocket and Tia, sprinting for the stairs. "No!" Rocket cried out, spinning round and pursuing his dad down the hall and up the stairs. Rocket reached the top step just as he saw his dad entering Daniel's nursery; Rocket's eyes narrowed in rage and he leapt up the last step and cannoned into the nursery, only to be pushed out of the way by his dad who began running back down the stairs with a bawling Daniel in his arms.

When Rocket's dad got to the bottom of the stairs he immediately ran for the door but was blocked by Tia. He stopped for a second before holding Daniel close to him and wrapping one hand around his head "move or I kill it" he hissed. Tia's eyes widened in horror "no..." she whispered "please..." Rocket's dad glared at her. "Then let me pass."

Tia took in a shaky breath before reluctantly stepping to one side, her head bowed low. Rocket's dad didn't hesitate and pushed past her before running off down the road.

Rocket reached the bottom of the steps just in time to see his dad rushing out of the door. He angrily pushed Tia against the wall and began to shout "why did you do that?" he yelled angrily "you could have stopped him!"

Tia bowed her head "I-I couldn't..." she mumbled "he was going to kill Daniel..."

"He's still going to try and kill him Tia! You should have known that!" But before Tia could reply, Val stepped in "and that's exactly what's going to happen if you don't stop him! Standing around arguing isn't going to bring him back!" The couple looked at one another before Rocket spoke "she's right, we have to save our son!" And with that they both sprinted out of the door.

Rocket's dad ran along the path with Rocket and Tia in hot pursuit; all of a sudden Rocket's dad skidded round a corner and was temporarily lost from sight. That was when Tia began to panic "what if we don't catch up with him in time?" she asked, Rocket turned on her "we will catch him up in time! Now keep running!" He yelled, causing Tia to stop momentarily in shock, before wiping away newly forming tears and running after Rocket.

Both of them ran around the corner just in time to see Rocket's dad heading off down an old concrete road "there he is!" Rocket cried "after him!" Tia glanced around her for a minute before realizing where they were and her eyes went wide "Rocket!" she shouted "that path, it leads to the river! He's going to throw him in the river!" Rocket glanced back at her in shock before narrowing his eyes and running even faster "over my dead body..." He hissed.

As the river came into sight, Tia's heart almost stopped. There on the bank stood Rocket's dad, his arms outstretched and holding a screaming Daniel out over the water. "Dad!" Rocket shouted frantically as they drew closer "stop!" His dad turned his head round slightly and chuckled "aww, isn't that sweet..." he sneered "brotherly love..." Rocket skidded to a halt "what do you mean?" He asked, confused "you know very well what I mean!" His dad snarled "your mother's found herself a new man! And with that man she created...this..." he spat in disgust, shaking Daniel enough to make him start crying again. Rocket shook his head "no, Dad, you've got it all wrong! That's not my half brother, that's my son!"

Rocket's dad hesitated for a second, registering what Rocket had just said, but then he glared again "nice try son, but I'm not that stupid!" he shouted triumphantly, holding Daniel out over the river again.

That was when Tia snapped, seeing her son so close to being killed made her maternal instincts go into overdrive. She shoved passed Rocket "GIVE ME BACK MY SON RIGHT NOW!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. Rocket's dad turned his head round to see the state she was in, then looked back at Daniel who had now stopped crying. After a few seconds he looked back to Tia, then Daniel again. He stared intently into Daniel's eyes before turning fully round to face Tia "your eyes..." he muttered in shock "your eyes...are the same..." he took a step towards Tia and held out Daniel to her, she snatched him from his grip and pulled him close, rocking him slowly in her arms while backing away until she was hidden behind Rocket.

Rocket's dad stared at his son in sorrow for a long time before speaking "I can't believe it..." he whispered "my son...a father..." he took a step forward "...can I see...?"

Rocket folded his arms "it's a him, and no, you can't." Rocket's dad lowered his head "I'm sorry..."he mumbled "I had no idea..."

"Well you do now." Said Rocket bluntly

Seconds later there came the sound of police sirens; Val had obviously called for them as soon as Rocket and Tia had left.

Rocket's dad looked up as the police cars came round the corner; he reached over and placed a hand on Rocket's shoulder "I am so proud of you" he whispered "she looks like an amazing girl...and your son...he looks almost like you, except the eyes..." he drifted off. Rocket's eyes softened "yes" he replied "he has his mother's eyes" Rocket's dad smiled slightly "congratulations son" he said "good luck in life..." then he was dragged away into a police car and driven away.

Rocket stood watching the cars drive away; Tia came over to him and placed her hand in his. He glanced over to her and smiled, then he looked back to the retreating car "thanks, dad..." he said.


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey! So so sorry for not updating in a LONG while, haven't really had the time and plus I'd completely lost inspiration for writing full stop! But I hope this makes up for it!_

_Oh, and if you enjoy this chapter, please please PLEASE review! I've been having a bad few days recently and a few reviews would really make my day!_

_Thanks!_

_Rhianna xxxx_

A few days later

Rocket yawned widely and rubbed his eyes as he walked back to the bedroom that Tia and himself shared. He had got up as early as possible to feed Daniel before his crying woke Tia up; even though Tia insisted that there was nothing wrong with her having to get up early...once in a while.

He opened the bedroom door to see Tia sitting up in bed, wide awake and with an unimpressed look on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you? You don't need to wake up early to feed Daniel; I can also do that myself you know!" Rocket sighed before walking over to the bed and sitting down beside his girlfriend "look" he said "I'm only doing it because I know how tired you got a week or so ago when you had to feed him every night and" he leant forward and placed a hand on hers "I wanted to make up for how I acted back then; I was an irresponsible boyfriend and a rubbish father. I took both you and Daniel for granted...sorry..."

Tia looked at him carefully, and then put both hands on his cheeks "that's where you're wrong Rocket. You're an amazing boyfriend and a caring father, it's just this whole parent business is a first time for you, a first time for both of us." She began to rub a thumb across his cheek "we'll just have to do what we think is right, learn from our mistakes and in time things will become easier. We might never become the best parents ever, but we can be the best parents that _we_ can be. I promise."

Rocket let out another sigh, Tia looked at him expectantly "well?" she asked gently. Rocket glanced up at her and smiled "what did I do to deserve you?" he asked; Tia smiled "be born" she stated simply before pressing her lips to his and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Rocket responded slowly at first, but as the passion intensified he began to kiss back with much more vigour. His hands began to wander; one started to rub her back in small sensual circles while the other glided down to her thigh and stroked it gently; Tia let out a muffled moan against his lips which was the catalyser for Rocket to increase his advances. He broke away and began to lick and kiss along her jaw-line, making Tia moan even loader than before. Tia's mind became a blur of pleasure and ecstasy. Her first sensible thought came to her just as Rocket was doing amazing things to her neck and undoing the buttons of her pyjama top; she wriggled to get out from under Rocket but ended up helping Rocket in the removal of her top.

Rocket slowly began to kiss down his angel's stomach, revelling in the little whimpers she made as he did so, failing to notice the look on her face which meant she was planning something. Suddenly Rocket felt Tia's hand slipping slowly down from his neck and chest, lower and lower... He stopped what he was doing, closed his eyes and moaned appreciatively, enjoying the feeling of Tia's hands massaging his body.

Then suddenly that feeling was gone.

He opened his eyes to find that Tia had somehow managed to wriggle out of his grasp and was now standing, shirtless, a good few metres away from the bed "Tia..." he whined in annoyance to which she grinned "nuh uh uh!" she said in a sing-song voice while wagging her finger "no more of that!" Then she stepped forward and whispered in his ear "at least for now..." Rocket's eyes widened and he too grinned, excited about what he would do to her when the time finally came.

But as Tia began putting on her top and doing up the buttons, he noticed a ring of purple bruises around her left wrist and in an instant he got up "Tia?" He asked, his voice serious "yeah?" she answered casually while doing up the last of the buttons "where did you get that?" he asked, gesturing to the bruises. In an instant Tia's face dropped its grin "oh...that..." she muttered "well-"

"Tell me!" Rocket half-shouted "tell me where you got it!"

Tia looked taken aback for a few seconds before replying "I...got it that night..." she mumbled "you know, the night your dad..." she trailed off. Rocket took another step forward, his eyes dark with anger "it was my dad wasn't it." He stated, Tia paused "WASN'T IT!" he shouted, making Tia jump and almost scream "that bastard!" Rocket yelled again "If I ever get my hands on him I'll-"

"Rocket!"

He stopped mid-rant "What?" he asked, slightly irritated. Tia swallowed "it wasn't your dad who did this to me...it was" she gulped "you..."

Rocket stared at her wide-eyed, then it all came back to him...

_**Rocket reached the bottom of the steps just in time to see his dad rushing out of the door. He angrily pushed Tia against the wall and began to shout "why did you do that?" he yelled angrily "you could have stopped him!"**_

_**Tia bowed her head "I-I couldn't..." she mumbled "he was going to kill Daniel..."**_

_**"He's still going to try and kill him Tia! You should have known that!" **_

Rocket stared at her "you mean...I..." Tia nodded, sniffing before turning and running out of the door "Tia!" Rocket shouted "Wait!"

Tia sat on one of the small wooden benches that were placed near the back door, facing out towards the garden. She had her legs tucked up and rested her chin on her knees.

"Tia?" She heard Rocket's voice but refused to react, instead she continued to gaze off into the distance. Rocket sighed as he stood in the back door-way, then he walked towards her and knelt down by her side.

"Tia" he repeated, she looked up at him and Rocket was shocked and ashamed to see that she had been crying. He swallowed "Tia, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have flipped out on you like that I-"

"Rocket" Tia interrupted "it's alright"

"No it's not!" Rocket exclaimed in frustration "don't you get it? I could suddenly start yelling at you for no reason..." he trailed off as Tia gave him a look "...Just like I'm doing now...sorry..." He turned away "what is wrong with me?" he asked desperately "why am I acting like this?"

Tia reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder "Rocket, there's nothing wrong with you. You're just being protective."

"Yeah, if being protective involves hurting you!"

"That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I mean that you would be willing to do anything to keep Daniel safe, and that means more to me than you know. I would rather you made sure Daniel was safe...instead of me."

Rocket stared at her in shock "But I could never do that! I love you both just as much!"

"But you hurt me when Daniel was in danger, I don't ever think you would hurt Daniel if I was in danger would you?"

Rocket looked away once more "you're right..." he muttered "God I'm a monster..."

Tia's eyes widened, she grabbed both of Rocket's shoulders and spun him around roughly "listen to me!" She hissed "you are NOT a monster! You are the kindest, sweetest most loving person I have ever met!" she leant forward until their faces nearly touching "sure you have your negative sides, but that's what makes you who you are. And that's why I love you!" She exclaimed, tears pouring down her face.

Rocket blinked in shock at Tia's sudden outburst, then slowly he began to process exactly what she had said. "You really mean that?" he asked, Tia nodded "Yes! Every single word!" Rocket's mouth split into a huge grin, then he pulled her to him for a passionate kiss.

When he pulled away he spoke "how about later tonight I take you out somewhere, you know, to make up for how I've been lately? What do you say?" Tia grinned back at him "I would love to" she replied before leaning in to kiss him again...

"Ah there you are!" they both broke away to see Val standing in the door way, she smiled "I've been looking for you Tia!" she said still smiling.

Tia blinked "me? What for?"

Val's smile widened "there's someone here to see you!" she replied "they're in the drawing room, come with me! Tia glanced at Rocket in confusion before getting up and following Val indoors.

"Who is this visitor?" Tia questioned as she hurried after Val "you'll see!" Val exclaimed "in here..." she said, opening a door and indicating for Tia to enter. When she did, her eyes came to rest on a woman who had now stood up and was smiling at her "hello dear" her mum said "I've been waiting for you..."


End file.
